


L-O-V-E in Hawkins

by JoMo3



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-09-22 14:29:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9611504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMo3/pseuds/JoMo3
Summary: A 5-part Mileven/Jancy Valentine fic.





	1. (E)L

**Author's Note:**

> So this is set in a different universe than my other series Strange Conversations. I'll be getting back to that in a week or so.

_ (E)L is for the way you look at me…. _

  
  


It was February 10th and all throughout Hawkins, Indiana, people were getting into the spirit of the upcoming holiday. Downtown was decorated with red and pink decorations, roses were being bought by the dozens, and paper hearts were being cut out in schools.

Those who had significant others were busy making last minute plans for something romantic on the upcoming day; and those in….somewhat complicated relationships…. wondered what to do.

 

***

 

El Hopper looked strangely at the decorations she saw at the local market.

“Dad?” she asked her adoptive father, Jim Hopper.

Hopper, who’d been looking over the beer selections, turned to his new daughter. “Yeah?”

“Why is it so...pink in here?”

He grinned. “It’s Valentine’s in a few days, that’s why.”

“Val...in...times? What’s that?”

Jim shook his head as he put a six pack into the cart. “It’s a day where you get something special for someone you like.”

“A friend?”

“Uh, sometimes. But usually it’s for someone really special to you.”

El nodded her head in understanding. “Are you getting one for someone?”

“Just you, kiddo,” he said, ruffling her growing head of hair.

As they continued their grocery shopping, Eleven thought about what Hopper had said;  _ someone you like _ . It reminded her of the conversation she had had with Mike in the school more than a year ago; he had said that you go to things like the Snow Ball with someone you like.

Was Valentine’s Day for someone like that? She would have to do more investigating.

 

In another part of town, at Hawkins Middle School, Mike Wheeler was daydreaming in his science class. Not that he didn’t find it interesting; Mr. Clarke was by far his favorite teacher, but he was daydreaming about a certain telekinetic girl.

She had been back for almost four months now, slowly coming out of her shell. Mike was doing his best to ignore the feelings that were stirred up when she’d returned. But with Valentine's Day coming up in a few days he was wondering if he should make some kind of gesture.

He was suddenly brought back to earth when he noticed the room had gotten quiet. He could feel more than a dozen eyes on him. Snapping out of his daze, he sat up and looked at Mr. Clarke, who was looking at him with a patient smile on his face.

“Mike?”

“Uh, y-yes, Mr. Clarke?”

“Is everything okay?”

“Um….yeah?”

“Alright. Then, can you tell us more about what chapter 4 was about?”

“Um, sure.”

 

“Dude, what happened to you in there?” Dustin asked him as he, Mike, and Lucas walked to their lockers.

“I was just thinking,” Mike told him.

“About what?” Lucas asked.

“Nothing.”

Lucas and Dustin’s eyes met, and they smiled and nodded their heads.

“El,” Lucas said.

“Definitely El,” Dustin said, his grin widening.

Mike sighed. “Just...shut up.”

As they arrived at their lockers, the two boys wouldn’t let up. Finally, Mike gave in.

“I think….I think I want to get her something for Valentine's Day.”

“I knew it!” Dustin exclaimed.

“Get her something, like what?” Lucas asked.

Mike shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe a card or something?”

“Does she even know what Valentine’s Day is?” Dustin asked.

“Probably not,” Mike answered. 

“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” Lucas said. “She had her first Christmas, first New Year’s.” Smiling, he said, “Pretty soon she’ll get her first kiss.”

“No, we already….” Mike started, then stopped himself as his face turned beet-red.

“WHAT??!!” Dustin nearly yelled. “You and El….”

Mike sighed loudly. “We kissed, okay? The night she disappeared, when you two went and got pudding….I kissed her.”

“Holy  _ shit _ ,” Dustin said. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because of how you’re acting right now, Dustin,” Lucas answered for him. Then, to Mike, “So are you two, like, dating and you didn’t want us to know?”

Mike shook his head. “It’s not like that.” He leaned against his locker. “We...we kissed, and we were supposed to go to the Snow Ball. But when she came back, I realized….I don’t think she even knew what it  _ meant _ ….kissing. And I didn’t want to make her do something she’s not ready for.”

“So, wait, you guys haven’t been sucking face since she got back?” Dustin asked.

Mike shook his head no. “She hasn’t asked about it, or said anything about the Snow Ball, so...she probably doesn’t even remember, or even care.” Suddenly, he looked nervous. “Don’t tell her, okay?”

“About what?” Lucas asked.

“About any of this. About the Snow Ball, or the…”

“Kissing?” Dustin said, a big smile on his face.

“Yeah, that.”

“But I thought you were going to get her a Valentine?”

“Never mind,” Mike said as he grabbed his backpack. “Let’s get out of here.”

 

As the dismissal bell rang at Hawkins High, Nancy Wheeler walked quickly to her locker. Her plan was to hurry and get what she needed so she could head home without being seen by Steve and his friends. It had been a week since they’d broken up, and so far she had done a good job of avoiding him.

As she got her coat and the books she’d need for the weekend, she turned to go, only to turn right into Steve, which made her drop her books.

“Oh! Nance, I’m sorry,” he said, picking up her books.

“It’s fine,” she said, wanting to get out of there. “It’s fine.”

“Here,” he said, standing back up and handing her her trigonometry textbook.

“Thanks,” she said, putting it securely in the nook of her arm. “I gotta go.”

“Nancy,” he said, smiling. “We’re going to run into each other, it’s a small school.”

“I know, I just... I’ve got to go.” Turning, she quickly walked towards the parking lot.

 

Unbeknownst to Nancy, Jonathan Byers was sitting in his car in the school parking lot, fiddling with his camera. He’d just gotten out of economics class, and was begrudgingly about to head to work. On the way to his car someone had bumped into him, making his camera fall. He wanted to make sure it still worked.

As he played with the viewfinder, he saw Nancy come out of the school in a hurry. The two of them talked every now and then, but the budding friendship that had began when they were monster-hunting had ebbed away. With his lens, he watched her go to her car, open the door, and fling her backpack inside. Getting behind the wheel, she closed the door and let out a long sigh. Without thinking, Jonathan snapped a picture. Feeling guilty about spying, he put the camera on the passenger seat and walked over to her car.

Her head was against the headrest when he gently knocked on her window, causing her to jump. He gave a little wave.

She rolled down the window. “Hi.”

“Hi. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m...fine.”

“Oh. I just wanted….” He stopped, as he saw Nancy’s eyes lock on something. Following her gaze, he saw Steve walking out of the school with his friends, as well as a pretty blonde whose waist one of his hands were on. Jonathan glanced back at Nancy, watching her eyes narrow.

He’d heard about their breakup a week ago, but hadn’t talked to her in a while.

“Um….I can go. Sorry to bother you,” he muttered as he turned to leave.

“Wait.”

He stopped, spinning around.

“Did you want something?”

He hesitated, then shook his head. “No. Just saying hi.” He gave her a weak smile, and then walked back to his car.

 

The three boys were going to hang out in Mike’s basement, but then Lucas had to go home and take care of some chores. So that left Dustin and Mike in the Wheelers’ basement. Will would be over later and although Mike was secretly hoping El would come over, he knew Chief Hopper had the day off and would be spending time with her.

As Mike and Dustin sat in the basement watching Transformers cartoons, Dustin finally spoke. 

“You should get her something.”

“What?” Mike, lost in the cartoon, turned to his friend.

“Eleven. You should get her something for Valentine’s Day.”

“Just forget about it, Dustin,” Mike said.

“No, I’m serious. Tell her what Valentine’s Day is, and then give her some flowers or something.”

“What, and embarrass myself?”

“You like her, don’t you?”

Mike fidgeted with his hands. “I guess. I don’t know.”

“Well, she definitely likes you.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“Eleven. I mean, I know she’s one of us now, but clearly she favors you, Mike.”

“She does not.”

Dustin shook his head. “Sometimes you’re really clueless, you know that? She doesn’t hold  _ my _ hand. When she gets sleepy she doesn’t put her head on  _ Lucas’ _ shoulder. She doesn’t give  _ Will _ a hug every time she sees him.”

“That’s ‘cause she barely knows Will.”

“You know what I mean,” Dustin said. “She likes you, Mike. She looks at you like your face is made out of Eggo’s. Step up and get her something.”

There was a knock at the outside door, and Dustin got up to let Will in. Mike sat there, thinking about what his friend had just said. 

 

After an evening of pizza and tv with her dad, Eleven was snuggled up in bed. Tired as she was, she couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about Valentine's Day and Mike. Hopper had said they were for someone special, and she couldn't think of anyone more special to her than Mike (except Hopper). She liked the other boys, but she knew she felt something….different….towards Mike. 

Turning in her bed, she sighed. She had more questions, but didn't know who to talk to. Then she remembered...Nancy! On Saturday mornings she went to the Wheelers’ home for tutoring with Nancy. She would ask her tomorrow. 

Satisfied, she drifted off to sleep.

 

A few miles away, Mike was also having a difficult time falling asleep. He kept thinking about El and the things Dustin had said. Did she like him? He definitely liked her, but wasn’t sure the feeling was mutual. Dustin had been right; she didn’t do things like hold hands with the other boys, it was only him.

Well, he told himself, I’ll definitely get her a Valentine’s card. Even he just saw her as a friend, he’d probably still get her a card. As for getting her something else….he still didn’t know about that. He’d have to think about it.


	2. O

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, true story-I had this finished two days ago, hated it, and rewrote it. I think this is a little better than what I originally wrote.

_...O is for the only one I see… _

  
  


On the morning of Saturday, February 11th, Chief Hopper dropped his daughter off at the Wheelers’ home for her Saturday morning tutoring session. Between Nancy’s math tutoring, Joyce’s English help, and Mr. Clarke’s history and science aid, they were trying to get El ready so she could start school in the fall.

She jumped out of Hopper’s truck, waving goodbye. He reminded her he’d be back after his shift to come and get her.

 

El knocked on the Wheeler’s door and was greeted by Mrs. Wheeler.

“Hi, El,” she said, hugging the young girl. “Come in. Nancy will be down in a minute.”

“Is Mike here?” El asked.

Karen smiled. “He’s still sleeping.”

El nodded her head, and went to sit at the dining room table, putting her backpack on the floor next to her. Usually Mike would be the one to greet her when she came over; she'd been looking forward to seeing his freckled face. 

She was also sort of glad he hadn’t answered the door as she was anxious to talk to Nancy about Valentine's Day. Was she supposed to get one for Mike?

Minutes later she heard Nancy coming down the stairs. “Hi, El,” she said, bringing a book and a pencil with her to the table.

“Hi, Nancy,” El said, smiling. 

“Let’s get started, shall we?”

The two girls spent the next two hours working diligently. El was still struggling with long division, so they spent extra time on that.

About halfway through their time together, Mike came downstairs to get breakfast.

“Hey, El,” he said, smiling sheepishly and waving.

“Hi, Mike,” she said back, also smiling at him.

Mike wanted to eat his cereal at the table with them, but Nancy forbid it, knowing that the two would distract each other. So Mike took his bowl down into the basement. 

When they were getting close to wrapping up, El decided to ask what had been on her mind since the previous night.

“Nancy, what is Valentime’s Day?”

“Valentine’s,” Nancy said. “It’s a holiday. You get things for people that you like.” She shook her head. “It’s stupid.”

“Stupid?”

Nancy corrected herself. “It’s for people who are dating. You know, people you kiss,” she added, trying to simplify it.

“Kiss?”

“It’s when you put your mouth on somebody else,” she said, demonstrating by kissing the back of her hand.

“Oh,” El said, realizing that’s what Mike had done to her that day in the school. “You do that to somebody you like?”

“Somebody you like more than a friend, yeah,” Nancy said, looking at her slyly. “Why? Is there somebody you want to kiss?”

Eleven blushed, and shyly said, “No.” Although the thought of kissing Mike did pop into her mind. “Are you going to kiss anyone? Steve?”

Nancy furrowed her brow. “No, I’m not.”

“Jonathan?”

Nancy turned a shade of red and looked at the young girl with wide eyes. “Who told you that?”

El shrugged her shoulders. “No one. I just thought.”

“Mm-hm. Come on, let’s do one more problem, wise guy,” Nancy said with a smile. 

As she put pen to paper, El thought about “more than a friend.” Was that what she and Mike were?

 

After finishing with Nancy, Eleven picked up her backpack and went downstairs to see Mike. He was standing next to the Dungeons and Dragons table, closing up a notebook. His face brightened when he saw her.

“Hey, El. All done?”

“Yes,” she answered, sitting on the couch.

“Cool. Will should be here any minute, and Lucas and Dustin are coming over, too.” He sat down next to her. “So what’d you do with Nancy?”

“A lot of division. I’m getting better at it,” she said, reaching for his notebook. She went to a blank page and handed it to him. “Give me a problem.”

“Okay,” he said, taking the notebook from her. He wrote 131 divided by 6 and handed it to her. After a minute of scribbling, she beamed and pointed at her answer. “Twenty one.”

Mike shook his head, a grin coming to his face. “No, it’s not.”

El looked confused. “But I did it right.”

“No, El, you’ve got a remainder,” he said, pointing to where she’d make a mistake. As he did, their fingers touched, causing Mike to blush and pull his hand away.

“Sorry,” he said.

She didn’t know what he was apologizing for, but nodded her head anyway.

“See, um,” he continued, “You didn’t bring down the one to make eleven, and then subtract six from it.”

“Oh,” she said. She pointed to where he was talking about, causing their fingers to come into contact again. Neither moved their hands away. 

“So that would make the remainder five, right?” she asked, looking up at him.

“Um,” he said, his eyes meeting hers. “Yeah.”

Without realizing it, their hands moved so they were lightly grasping the other’s fingers.

Mike could swear his heart was suddenly pounding so loud that, two houses down, Lucas could hear it.

El, meanwhile, had that feeling she sometimes got around Mike. Nervous, but safe and comfortable at the same time. Her heart was racing, and she couldn’t look away from his eyes. Without thinking about it, she started to lean towards his lips. 

Mike, realizing what was about to happen, leaned forward as well. 

Their faces were inches away from each other when Mrs. Wheeler called down, telling Mike that Will had arrived. 

Instinctively, the two teens moved away from one another, so quickly that Mike’s notebook and El’s pencil fell to the floor.

They heard some movement upstairs, and then Will was coming down, grinning at them. “Hey, guys. What’s going on?”

“Nothing!” Mike exclaimed, his voice cracking. 

“Okay,” Will said. He turned to the girl on the other side of the couch. “Hey, El! Did your lessons go well?”

El quietly nodded her head as she absentmindedly played with her fingers. 

Will looked at the two of them strangely. “Are you sure nothing’s going on?”

 

Upstairs in the kitchen, Nancy was cleaning up her work from tutoring when Karen Wheeler came into the room.

“Nancy, I need you to go down to the market and get some milk of magnesia.” When Nancy made a face, Karen added “Your sister has a stomach ache.”

“Can’t Mike go or something?” Nancy had recently made a new friend, Beverly, and was looking forward to talking to her on the phone.

“He’s waiting for his friends to come over. And we got you the car on the condition that you would help out around here, too. Remember?”

Nancy rolled her eyes. “Yes, I remember. Fine, I’ll go.”

 

Minutes later, as she pulled into the small parking lot of Big Buy Grocery, she grinned when she saw two familiar bikes leaning against the outside wall.

She walked up and down three aisles before she found where the milk of magnesia was. Unfortunately, they were out. She looked around for an employee, and ran into someone she wasn’t expecting: Jonathan.

“I forgot you worked here,” she told him.

“Yeah, I, uh, usually don’t work Saturdays, but I needed some money,” he said.

She nodded. “Do you know if there’s any milk of magnesia in the back? My mom sent me down here to get some, and you guys look like you’re all out.”

“Yeah, I’ll go check,” he told her.

“Thanks,” she said, smiling.

Just then, Lucas and Dustin walked by; the two boys stopped when they saw Nancy and Jonathan.

“Hi Nancy,” Dustin said, smiling at her.

“Hi,” Nancy responded. “I thought I saw your bikes outside. Mike’s waiting for you.”

“We just came to get some snacks,” Lucas said, holding up the bag of chips in his hand. “Is Mike here?”

“No, he’s still at home with Will and Eleven.”

Lucas and Dustin shared a knowing smile, then Lucas said “Okay. We won’t keep them waiting. See you guys later!” The two boys kept walking to the register.

“That was weird,” Nancy said.

“They’re weird kids,” Jonathan said.

“Look who’s talking,” she told him with a smile.

He gave her a small smile. “Right. I’ll go check, I’ll be right back.”

  
  


A little bit later, back at the Wheeler’s, Mike and Will were talking about the upcoming campaign. Will asked Mike if he was going to put any Valentine’s stuff in it.

“Um...probably not,” Mike responded, glancing over at El on the couch. The two had barely glanced at each other since their near-kiss minutes ago.  Mike had stayed busy talking to Will, while El was looking through some of the books she had in her backpack.

“But you’ve gotta!” Will said. “It’d be cool.” He scrunched up his face. “Just don’t make it too mushy.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Mike said.

There were footsteps on the stairs as Lucas and Dustin paced into the basement. El looked up from her books and smiled at them.

“Sorry we’re late,” Lucas said. “We stopped to get some snacks.”

“We saw your sister with Jonathan,” Dustin said, sitting on the couch with El. Lucas took a seat at the table with Will and Mike.

“What do you mean, ‘with Jonathan’?” Mike asked.

“They were at Big Buy,” Lucas said.

“Yeah, it looked like they were having a date,” Dustin teased.

“What? Jonathan and Nancy?” Mike said, unbelieving.

“Yeah,” Dustin said, smiling. “Looks like you’ll finally get that brother you always wanted.”

“Shut up,” Mike said while the boys laughed. Will just shook his head. “What do you guys wanna do?”

“I thought we were going to watch ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’,” Dustin said.

“Did you bring it?” Mike asked.

“Dammit,” Dustin muttered under his breath.

“Come on, let’s go to the video store,” Lucas said. The gang started gathering their things when Mrs. Wheeler called down. “Mike, I have to go next door for a minute. Can you listen for the plumber? He’s supposed to fix our shower.”

Mike sighed. “Fine.” Turning to his friends, he said, “I’ll stay here. You guys go and hurry back.”

Lucas, Dustin, and Will got up and headed towards the door, but turned to look at El, who was still sitting on the couch.   
“El? You coming?” Dustin asked.

“Yeah, you can ride on the back of my bike,” Will added.

She shook her head, stealing a glance at Mike. “I will stay here.”

Dustin shrugged his shoulders. “Okay.”

Dustin gave Mike a smile, and the three boys climbed the stairs for their trip to the store.

Mike reluctantly went and sat next to El on the couch.

“Mike,” El said, looking at him.

“Yeah?” he asked, shyly looking over at her.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“For...for before.”

Mike sighed. “El, you didn’t do anything wrong. I...I  _ wanted _ to kiss you,” he said, turning the color of a tomato.

“Really?”

“Y-yeah.”

This time, El blushed. “I wanted to kiss you, too,” she said quietly.

They locked eyes and smiled at each other, then quickly looked at their laps.

They heard a faint knock upstairs, and Mike sighed. “That’s probably the plumber. I’ll be right back.” As he got up, Eleven took his arm.

“Mike?” El said, standing up.

“Yeah?”

She reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

Mike blushed even more and, in a daze, tripped on the bottom step, falling on his butt.

Eleven giggled as Mike recovered. “Um, El,” he began as he stood up, “Do you maybe want to, um, do something on Valentine’s Day?”

She nodded her head eagerly.

“Cool. I’ll, uh, I’ll be right back.”

As he went upstairs, she sat down on the couch with a smile on her face.  _ She was going to spend Valentine’s Day with Mike! _ She could hardly wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it!  
> My original plan was to have this series done by Valentine's Day, but the way things are going, that may not happen. Hopefully chapter 3 will be up this weekend.  
> Thanks for reading.


	3. V

…. _ V is very, very extraordinary….. _

 

It was the morning of Sunday, February 12th. Mike Wheeler woke up earlier than usual, a big smile on his face. The previous evening had been a blur, but one of the happiest of his life.

Right after he’d gotten a kiss from El, he’d gone upstairs to let in the plumber. Almost immediately, his mother had returned and had asked him to watch Holly while she talked the plumber through what needed to be done.

Soon after  _ that _ , his friends had returned and the group had watched  _ Close Encounters _ in the basement. Mike had wanted to sit next to El on the couch, but Dustin had squeezed in between them, chewing on popcorn and spilling half of it on his shirt. Halfway through the movie, Hopper had arrived to pick up Eleven. So he hadn’t had another chance to talk to her alone, but he was hoping he would today. 

The reason he had woken up a little earlier was he wanted to buy El a card. He wouldn't be giving it to her yet, but he would be busy with school the next few days so he figured he'd take care of it now. 

After eating breakfast he rushed to the garage to get his bike. A short bike ride later and he was at the local store, looking for the right card for a teenage telekinetic valentine. 

It was harder than he thought; most of the cards were either too mushy or too kiddie.

After searching for what seemed like forever, he found one he liked. It had a picture of a cartoon rabbit holding flowers on the outside, with a 4-line poem on the inside.

After paying for it, he tucked it into one of the pockets of his jacket and biked home. 

 

At Hopper’s trailer, Eleven was getting ready to go see her friends. She had barely slept last night, so excited about spending time with Mike on Valentine's Day. 

She had decided today that she'd dress a little nicer; picking out a skirt she liked, plus a shirt she'd gotten for Christmas and hadn't worn yet. When she came out of her room, Hopper, who was sipping coffee at the table, did a double take. 

“You going somewhere special?” he asked her. 

She shook her head as she got the Eggo’s out of the freezer. 

“Does this have anything to do with Mike Wheeler?” Last night when he had picked her up she'd immediately started asking about stopping to buy a Valentine's card. 

She tried to hide a blush, but failed. Still, she muttered “No.”

“Uh-huh. If you say so,” he said, grinning. 

 

When Mike arrived at his house, he tried to put the card into his desk drawer in his room, but it wouldn't fit. 

Frowning, he pulled the drawer open to see why the thin, flimsy card wouldn't fit. There were many things crammed into the drawer, but what seemed to take up the most room was the journal his mother had given him nearly a year ago. 

It was supposed to be one way for him to cope with his feelings after Eleven had disappeared; he'd used it for a month, then stored it away. 

Taking it out, he placed the card inside on a random page and closed it. 

He was about to stick it back in the drawer when he heard the doorbell ring; his friends were here. 

Rushing downstairs, he was greeted with Lucas waiting for him. Mike's face slightly fell. 

“What?” Lucas asked. 

“Nothing.”

Lucas grinned. “Yeah, right. You were hoping I was El.” He walked in, and gave Mike a light punch on the shoulder. “How's she getting here?”

“Will is picking her up.”

Lucas nodded his head, and the two boys went into the basement. 

“My mom ordered a pizza, and Dustin is bringing some Mountain Dew,” Mike told him.

“Cool.”

Minutes later, Dustin came through the basement door and soon after, Will and El showed up. 

Mike couldn't be sure, but it looked like Eleven had dressed up a little bit. Instead of her usual jeans and sweatshirt, she wore a skirt with tights and a shirt he'd never seen on her before. Topping it off, she had a flower barrette in her hair. 

“You just going to stare?” Dustin asked Mike, teasing him. 

“Shut up,” Mike said. Then, to El, “Hi El. You look nice.”

“Thank you,” she said shyly. 

When the boys had rushed off to the video store yesterday, they’d also rented  _ Jaws _ and  _ Jaws 2 _ . Lucas had said that the second one was much better than the first, which had sent Will and Dustin into hysterics. They’d rented it to show Lucas how much better the first one was. Splitting up the sodas, the gang settled onto the floor and couch to start their double feature.

 

Upstairs, Nancy had just gotten out of a shower when her mom knocked on her door.

“Come in,” she called.

Karen Wheeler came in and smiled at her oldest daughter. “Nancy, sweetie, are you doing anything on Tuesday?”

Nancy tried not to roll her eyes. Tuesday was Valentine’s Day. Newly single, she had no plans.

“No, not yet,” she answered.

Karen smiled. “How’re you doing?”

Nancy gave her mother a look. “How am I doing with what?”

Karen shrugged. “I know Steve wasn’t my favorite of the boys you’ve brought home, but I saw that you two cared for each other. This must be hard for you.”

“Mom….I’m fine, okay?”

Karen nodded. “Okay. Well, your father and I are going into the city for dinner Tuesday night. Could you watch Holly while we’re gone?”

“Sure, yeah, whatever,” Nancy said.

“Thank you,” Karen said. She rubbed Nancy’s back, then stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Nancy sighed. She wasn’t planning on doing anything for Valentine’s Day, but she also didn’t like having to stay home and watch her little sister.

 

After the group had finished the first  _ Jaws _ , they took a break. Will went to use the bathroom, and Dustin and Lucas argued about the movie. 

Turning to the girl on the couch next to him, Mike told her he was going to get some more snacks, and asked if she wanted to come with him. 

The two went into the kitchen. Mike searched through the pantry while El stood at the kitchen table.

“Let's see,” Mike said, “we've got Chips Ahoy, Twinkies, fruit snacks. Fruit. Yuck. Is there anything you want, El?”

She walked over to look in the pantry, ending up standing right next to him. He saw her face harden for a second, and then watched as a bag of Oreo cookies came floating down into her hands. She smiled when she realized he was watching her. 

“Sorry,” she said. 

“No, you're okay.” He looked at his feet for a second. “Hey, El?”

“Yes?”

His face got red. “You look really pretty.”

“Thank you.”

“Sorry I didn't say it in front of the guys, I was just…”

“I understand,” she told him.

As they smiled at each other, their hands brushed one another and for a second, they gripped each other’s hand. 

Letting go, El smiled and said “I can't wait for Valentine's Day.”

“Me too,” Mike said. “Is there anything you wanted to do?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “What do people do on Valentine's Day?”

“I don't know,” he said, “I've never had a da….I mean, I've never had anyone to spend it with before.”

They heard footsteps coming upstairs, and the two took a small step away from each other. Dustin looked at the two of them and smiled. “What're you doing?” he teased. 

El held up the Oreos. “Snacks,” she said simply. Giving Mike a smile, she went back downstairs. 

Closing the pantry, Mike turned and saw Dustin still smiling at him. 

“Did you get her something?”

Mike sighed. “I got her a card. You didn't tell Lucas and Will, did you?”

Dustin shook his curly head. “No, but they can tell something's going on with you two.”

“What? How?”

Dustin rolled his eyes. “The two of you were watching each other more than you watched the movie.”

“No we weren't,” Mike said, although he knew his friend was telling the truth. 

“Whatever. C’mon, let's go see how wrong Lucas is.”

 

Back at the Byers’ home, Jonathan was listening to music while he finished some last minute homework. His thoughts kept drifting to Nancy. While it was true that last year he had had a crush on her, he thought those feelings were past him now. 

But after seeing more of her these last few days, he felt certain thoughts coming back. He kept telling himself it was silly, she wouldn't be interested in a guy like him. 

He thought about their brief conversation as he'd helped her at the store yesterday; he'd found some milk of magnesia and had rang her up, giving her the small employee discount he got. After she'd thanked him, he had walked her to the doors and asked:

 

“It may be none of my business, so you don't have to tell me. I mean, if you  _ want _ to, you can, but I…”

“Jonathan,” she said, cutting him off. “What is it?”

He sighed. “You and Steve. Why didn't...I mean, why aren't you…”

“Still dating him?”

“Y-yeah,” he said. 

Nancy sighed. “We just...I don't know. I guess...I started to get more serious about school, and he decided to get more serious about...other things.”

“Like Veronica Connors?”

Nancy looked down, and nodded her head. “He didn’t start dating her until we broke up, but...it’s been a  _ week _ .”

Jonathan nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, thanks.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I'm trying to tell myself I'm better off without him, you know?”

“You will be. Give it a couple of days, you'll be fighting off guys with a stick.”

She gave him a small smile. “Thanks for saying that. But I doubt any guy would make time for me.”

_ I would,  _ he thought to himself. 

She must've sensed he was thinking something, because she said, “What?”

“Nothing.”

She gave him a shy smile, then looked outside. “Well, I've got to get home.” She held up the milk of magnesia. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

 

Since she'd left, he kept kicking himself for not saying anything. 

Suddenly, he sat up and smiled. An idea sprang into his mind. Looking for a blank cassette tape, he was eager to get started. 

 

After finishing  _ Jaws 2 _ , even Lucas had to admit it paled in comparison to the first movie.

“Is there another one?” El asked, curious.

“Yeah, and it’s just as bad,” Dustin told her.

“No,” Will said, “this one is worse.”

“Let’s watch it and compare!” Dustin suggested, causing the other boys to moan in agony.

“Maybe next weekend,” Mike said. “What do you guys want to do now?”

Standing up, Lucas told them he had to head home. He said goodbye to his friends and left through the basement door.

Dustin and Will said they could stay for a little bit, and wanted to read some comic books. Mike kept a stash in the basement, and the group started flipping through some.

After a few minutes, El asked if she could borrow Mike’s copy of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.”

“I think it’s up in my room,” he told her. “Come on, we can go get it.”

He let El go up first, and could faintly hear Dustin making kissing noises as he climbed the stairs after her.

When the two of them got to the second floor of the house, they passed by Karen Wheeler’s open door on the way to Mike’s. She called for Mike to stop.

“What’re you doing up here?” she asked her son.

“I’m getting a book for El,” he told her.

“Keep the door open.”

“ _ Mom _ , we’re just getting a book.”

“Still.”

Mike rolled his eyes, and kept going.

Once in his room, El sat on his bed while he searched through his bookcase. “I don’t see it, El,” he told her.

She frowned. “It’s okay.”

He wanted to find it for her. “Oh! Wait right here, I think I know where it is!” He left the room, leaving Eleven alone.

She liked being in Mike’s room. It felt like home to her, almost as home as the basement and Hopper’s trailer. She stood up, noticing a book she hadn’t seen before sitting on his desk. It was a red and leather book. She picked it up and sat back on his bed. Flipping through it, she saw it was filled, at least partly, with Mike’s handwriting. She noticed in the back was tucked a card. She glanced at it, smiling when she saw it looked like a Valentine. She didn’t open it up, hoping it was for her and deciding that if it was, she’d rather be surprised.

She looked back towards the beginning, where most of the writing was. She flipped pages and, arriving at the last written page, read it. What she read made her heart fall.

 

_ I hate Eleven. I wish I had never met her _ .

 

As she read and reread it, tears began to sting the back of her eyes. Why would he write this? It confused her and made her angry at the same time.

Just then, Mike came in, smiling, with the book. “Found it!” he said. “It was in my dad’s office. I forgot I…” his face dropped when he saw what she was holding. “You weren’t supposed to see that,” he told her.

A silent tear ran down her cheek. “Because you hate me?” she asked quietly.

“What?”

She opened the book and showed him the page. Immediately he turned red and his eyes got huge. “El, it’s not what you think! I…”

She got up off the bed and pushed by him out of the room. He went to go after her, but the door slammed shut in his face. As he grabbed the handle, the lock turned. As much as he pulled, it wouldn’t budge.

“El!” he called, hitting the door. “El, come back!”

Dustin was in the kitchen getting a drink of water. He saw El come storming quickly downstairs, tears in her eyes and blood dripping from her nose. Concerned, he asked if she was alright.

“Mike,” she said. “Bad.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

But she was already outside, walking into the darkening night.

He watched her go. “Where are you going?” he called.

 

A few minutes later, Mike was able to get out of his room. Running downstairs, he opened the front door. “El! El!”

Dustin and Will stood behind him in the doorway. “She took off,” Dustin said. “What happened?”

“I’ve got to find her,” Mike said, starting to run to the garage to get his bike.

Chasing after him, Will asked what was wrong.

“She read something,” Mike said. “Something I forgot about.” Arriving at the garage, he hopped on his bike. Dustin stood in front of him, blocking his path.

“Mike!” he said. “What’s going on?!”

Mike sighed. “My mom, she got me this journal last year.”

“A journal?”

“Because I was missing El, she got me a journal to...I don’t know, write stuff down about her. There was one day I was really, really missing her and mad that she’d left. And I wrote that I hated her for leaving.”

Dustin’s eyes widened in understanding.

“I didn’t mean it, I was just so mad that day. I meant to tear it out, but....I never did. Stupid.” He was fighting back tears now, sniffling to keep them in check.

“Okay,” Dustin said. “Let’s go find her.”

 

The trio rode around Hawkins looking in familiar spots, but didn’t find her. Eventually, Will had the bright idea to go to Hopper’s place. When they arrived, Hopper greeted them at the door, looking upset.

“Chief!” Mike said. “Is El here?”

“Yeah, she’s here,” he answered.

“Can I see her? I’ve got to….”

“That’s not a good idea, kid,” Hopper said, stepping outside. “I don’t know what’s going on with you two, but she doesn’t want to see you right now. Go home.”

Mike sighed in defeat. “Can you tell her...can you tell her I didn’t mean it?” he asked, pleadingly.

Hopper nodded. “Go home, kids.”

Dustin and Will got on their bikes and turned them back around. Mike took a little longer, looking sadly in the direction of El’s window. Reluctantly and slowly, he got on his bike and the three boys rode off.

 

In her bedroom, El was sitting on her bed, wiping at her eyes. She felt stupid. When she’d been in the Upside Down all of that time, the thought of seeing Mike again was one of the things that had kept her going. And he “hated” her?

Feeling another wave of tears coming, she pulled the sheets over her head and let them come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the angst.....things will get worked out soon!


	4. E

_ ….E is even more than anyone that you adore…. _

 

Sunday night had been a sleepless one for Mike Wheeler. After he had gotten home from Hopper’s, he'd tried unsuccessfully to call Eleven on his Supercom. Finally he'd given up and tossed and turned in his bed all night. 

So here it was, the morning of Monday, February 13th, the day before Valentine's Day, and he could hardly keep his head from falling into his bowl of cereal. 

His mother looked at him with worry. “Is everything alright, Michael?”

“I’m fine,” he mumbled.

Karen poked her husband’s arm. Once she got his attention, she nodded at Mike. 

Clearing his throat, Ted asked “What's troubling you, Mike?”

“Nothing,” Mike said, annoyance creeping into his voice. “I'm fine.”

Ted looked at his wife, shrugged, then went back to eating his food.

Nancy picked at her cereal and looked at Mike. “You were up late. I heard you on your walkie talkie.”

“Michael, I thought we talked about you not using that so late,” Karen said. 

“Will everyone just leave me alone?  _ Gosh _ ,” he said.

Without finishing his meal, Mike got up, grabbed his backpack, and left the house.

Ted looked up. “What's wrong with him?”

 

School wasn’t that much more successful for Mike. His thoughts kept drifting back to El and that stupid journal of his. Why hadn’t he torn up that page long ago? Why had he  _ written _ it in the first place? True, he had been particularly mad that day, but that was no reason to write that about the girl he was in l…

He stopped, sitting up. Did he  _ love _ El? He certainly liked her a lot, but love, that...that was a big one.

He shook his head. He was fourteen; he was too young to be thinking like that.

 

When it was time for science class, his friends could tell he was still bothered by last night’s events. As they waited for the class to start, they asked Mike if he'd made any progress. 

“Not yet,” he told them. “I tried calling her last night, but she's not talking to me.”

“You want one of us to talk to her?” Dustin offered. 

Mike shrugged his shoulders. “I don't know...maybe.”

The bell rang, and they all turned towards Mr. Clarke. 

 

At Hopper’s, Jim was getting ready to go to work. Grabbing his hat, he knocked on Eleven’s closed door. He hadn't seen her since last night, and on Mondays and Thursdays she worked with Joyce Byers with her reading and writing. 

“El!” he called. “Let’s go!”

When there was no response, he jiggled the doorknob. It didn't turn. He sighed. 

“El, we talked about locked doors. Now if I have to kick this thing in it's coming out of  _ your _ allowance to get it fixed. So you gonna open it or not?”

There was a soft  _ click _ , and then the door opened. 

Hopper walked in to see his daughter lying in bed, looking forlorn.

“Come on, kid, you gotta get to Joyce’s.”

“No,” she whispered. 

“Well that's funny, I don't remember asking,” he said, pulling the covers back. 

She pulled them back over her body. “Don't want to.”

Hopper sighed, and knelt next to her face. “I get that you're mad, kiddo. But the world doesn't stop just because you got into a fight with Mike Wheeler. Okay? Come on.”

She sighed, and got out of bed. As she looked in her closet for clothes to wear, Hopper asked, “So you ready to tell me what happened yet?”

“No,” she responded. 

“Okay. I'll be outside when you're ready.” 

 

They rode to the Byers’ home mostly in silence. When they were almost at Joyce’s, Hopper said “He said he didn't mean it.”

“What?”

“Mike. He came by last night, and said he didn't mean it.”

When Eleven didn't respond, Hopper asked “Do you want to tell me what  _ it _ is?”

Fighting back the tears that were threatening to return, Eleven said “He….wrote something about me. Bad.”

“How bad?”

“He wrote he...hated me.”

Hopper snorted, and El felt confused when she saw a grin on his face. 

“Funny?” she asked. 

He shook his head. “Ellie, sweetie, I'm not laughing at you. Mike Wheeler couldn't hate you if he tried. That kid’s been in love with you since as long as I can remember.”

“In love?”

They arrived at Joyce's home. “Maybe Joyce can explain it better than me; she has a better way with words.” He reached into the backseat and grabbed her backpack. “You're going to be fine, El. I'm sure he has a reason for being that stupid.”

He smiled at her, which made her feel a little better.

Giving him a kiss on the cheek, she exited the truck and walked towards the Byers home. 

In his truck, Hopper reminded himself to intimidate the hell out of Mike Wheeler the next time he saw him. 

 

At Hawkins High, Nancy was on her way to her locker after second period. Walking down the hall, she made a face upon seeing all of the Valentine decorations.  _ Bah humbug _ , she thought to herself.

Arriving at her locker, she opened it up and was surprised when something fell out. Picking it up, she found it was a cassette tape, labeled “Nancy’s Songs.” She thought she knew who it was from, but wasn't one hundred percent sure. She put it into her pocket and headed to her next class. 

 

********************

“What does ‘in love’ mean?” El asked Joyce. It was halfway through their time together. The question surprised Joyce. 

“Why do you ask?”

“Dad said...that Mike is ‘in love’ with me. What does that mean?”

Joyce let out a small giggle. “He's perceptive, that father of yours.” Seeing that El was confused, she continued. “In love means when you really like someone, like a lot. You want to be with them all of the time, and you're always thinking about them.”

“Is Mike?”

Joyce sighed. “I couldn't tell you, sweetie. But the way he looks at you….my guess is he very well may be.”

El sniffed. “He said he hated me.”

Joyce looked taken aback. “When?”

“In a book.”

Joyce rubbed the girl’s hand. “I don't know why he would write that, El. But you need to talk to him.”

Eleven shook her head. “He's a mouth-breather.”

Joyce laughed, then shook her head. “Maybe he is, but I think you should find out why he wrote that.”

They got back to El’s studies, but her mind was elsewhere; she kept considering giving Mike “Mouth-Breather” Wheeler a chance to explain himself.

 

As the final bell rang, Nancy made her way to the student parking lot. Unfortunately, on her way, she could see Steve and Veronica Connors, leaning against his car, making out. Fuming, she picked up her pace so he wouldn't see her; she failed. 

“Hey, Nance!” he called out to her, quickly walking over. She had her keys set to unlock her door, but froze when she heard him.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…” he waved his arm in the direction of his car, where Veronica stood. 

Nancy gave him a small smile. “We’re not together anymore, Steve. You can do what you want.”

“I know, but….I don't want things to get weird, you know?”

“It's a little too late for that, isn't it?”

He looked confused. “What do you mean?”

All of the anger and frustration she'd had building up came out: “It's only been a  _ week _ and you're out here making out with her, walking around school like you're showing off how happy you are? Did you ever think how  _ I  _ would feel about that?”

Steve paused, then quietly answered “No, because I thought we were broken up.”

“We  _ are _ , but….” tears began to roll down her cheeks, “You're having a good time with Veronica, and I'm….” she trailed off, not knowing how to finish the sentence. Shaking her head, she said “Never mind. Have fun with her.” And with that, she opened her car door and slammed it shut behind her. 

Steve watched her for a second, then turned and walked away. 

In the car, Nancy wiped her eyes, mad at herself for crying in front of him. She twisted her body to put on her seatbelt, then grimaced when something poked her. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the cassette tape. 

Starting her car, she inserted the tape and pressed play. After a few seconds of static, it began to play:

 

_ You love her, but she loves him _ _   
_ _ And he loves somebody else, you just can't win _ _   
_ _ And so it goes, till the day you die _ _   
_ _ This thing they call love, it's gonna make you cry _ _   
_ _ I've had the blues, the reds and the pinks _ _   
_ __ One thing for sure, 

_ Love stinks, yeah yeah _

 

She started laughing; people walking by gave her weird looks, but she didn't care. 

 

********************

 

As soon as school let out, Mike jumped on his bike and rode as fast as he could. He stopped by his house for something, then rode over to Hopper's. 

El had tutoring with Ms. Byers today, but Mike knew that Hopper usually picked her up on one of his breaks to take her back home. 

Skidding to a stop outside the trailer, he hopped off his bike and knocked on the door. 

It opened almost right away, with Hopper glaring at him. 

“Is...can I talk to El?”

Hopper shook his head. “She doesn't want to talk to you.”

“Please, chief. I just need to explain…”

“Explain why you wrote that you hate her?”

Mike gulped.  _ Crap _ . 

“I don't hate her. I just….can I talk to her? Please?”

Hopper sighed. “She's in her room. You've got ten minutes.”

“Thank you,” Mike said, squeezing past him. 

“Hey, kid,” Hopper called.

Mike turned back. “Yeah?”

“You ever make her cry like that again, it's going to be you and me, got that?”

Mike nodded his head. “Yes, sir.”

As he approached her door, it felt like his heart would beat out of his chest. He softly knocked on the door. “El?”

The only sound he heard was a  _ click  _ as the door locked. 

“El, I'm sorry,” he said through the door. “Can I talk to you, please?” When there was no response, he continued “Hopper gave me ten minutes. After that, if you want me to leave, I'll go. But...please.”

There was no response for a minute. After two, he turned to leave. As he did, the door clicked open. 

Walking inside, he saw Eleven sitting on her bed, a scowl on her face.

“Hi, El,” he said cautiously. 

Her response was to fold her arms. 

“I just wanted to say that I'm sorry,” he said. “That was a...a stupid thing I wrote. I didn't mean it.”

“Then why did you write it?” she asked quietly. 

He started to sit next to her, but she gave him a look, and he remained standing.

“I didn't mean to write it,” he pleaded. “I…”

“You said you hate me,” she said, sadly.

“El, I don’t hate you. I lo..” he stopped himself as his face turned red.

“What?”

“Nothing. Look,” he said, sitting next to her. “When you were gone, I was...not myself. I was sad so much of the time. And there were some days I was just…..I don't know, mad.” Reaching in his backpack, he took out the journal. Eleven felt color come to her cheeks in anger as she saw it.

“Hold on,” Mike said, “Let me explain.” He opened it up to the first page. “My mom, she got this for me when you left.”

She looked confused. “Why?”

Mike shook his head. “When you first left, I wouldn’t talk to anybody. Not my parents, not Nancy. I didn’t even want to talk to Lucas and Dustin about you. I missed you  _ so much _ , El,” he said, tears threatening to come. He pushed them back. Opening up to the first page of the journal, he continued. “My mom got me this to write my...feelings about you. Here.” He moved closer to her and showed her the first entry.

 

_ December 12 _

_ I slept in El’s fort last night. I dreamed that I woke up and she would be there, but she wasn’t. My mom says I can’t keep sleeping down in the basement. I really want her back. _

 

He gave the journal to El, who kept looking at pages.

 

_ December 25 _

_ Today was Christmas, and I couldn’t stop thinking about Eleven. I wonder if she ever had a Christmas in Hawkins Lab. I wish I could’ve gotten her something. _

 

_ January 3 _

_ Mom helped me take down the fort in the basement today. Like an idiot, I couldn’t stop crying while we did it. My mom asked me about El, and I told her a lot of the stuff we did. She couldn’t believe we kept her hidden for a week! _

 

_ January 15 _

_ Troy bumped into me in the hallway today. I went to push him back, but Lucas stopped me. I still remember his face when El made him pee himself. It was so funny! _

 

_ February 22 _

_ Last week was Valentine’s Day and they had a school dance. El… _

 

_ February 25 _

_ I cried again yesterday about her. So stupid. Mrs. Smith was reading this poem to the class and it reminded me of El and I just started crying, I had to leave the class. _

_ This sucks! Why can’t I stop? I miss her so much! Why did she have to leave, it’s not fair! _

_ Will came back, so she can come back too, right? _

  
  


_ March 1 _

_ Lucas and Dustin were talking about this new girl, Max, that they think is cute. They asked me about her, but then like a knucklehead I started to get sad again. I hate this! _

 

_ March 5 _

 

_ I hate Eleven. I wish I’d never met her. _

 

Mike took the notebook from her and ripped out this last page. El looked up at him, and watched as he tore it into tiny pieces. By now, he had tears in his eyes.

“I’m sorry I wrote it,” he told her. “I got so mad about crying all the time, I….just...I did something stupid.” He looked her in the eye. “I could  _ never _ hate you, El.”

“Promise?”

He nodded his head. “Promise.”

Hesitantly, he gave her a hug; she hugged him back.

“I missed you too,” she told him as they let go.

He held her hand, then asked “Do, uh..do you still want to do something tomorrow?”

She nodded her head.

“Cool. Um, I’ll try and think of something, and we can meet after school?”

She smiled, and nodded her head again.

Both of them felt an urge to kiss all of a sudden. Mike was the first to lean in, and El soon followed. Before their lips met, though, they could hear Hopper clearing his throat from the doorway.

The two teens recoiled from each other quickly, El with her eyes wide and Mike turning red.

“Looks like you two made up,” Hopper said.

Eleven nodded.

“Good. But it’s time for dinner, and Mike,” he said, looking at him, “It’s time for you to go.”

“Yes, sir,” Mike said, standing up. Eleven, still holding his hand, gave it a squeeze as he got off the bed.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, El,” he told her.

“Promise?” she asked.

“Promise.”


	5. Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to post this. Thank you so much to those of you that have commented and given kudos. I really do appreciate it.

_ Love is all that I can give to you _

_ Love is more than just a game for two _

_ Two in love can make it, take my heart but please don’t break it _

_ Love was made for me and you _

  
  


The big day had finally arrived; Valentine’s Day in Hawkins. Mike Wheeler practically skipped downstairs to breakfast.

His mother, Karen, noticed the change in his behavior. “Someone’s feeling better,” she said as he sat down to eat before school.

Mike just smiled as he poured syrup on his waffles.

“Good morning,” Nancy said as she came downstairs, joining her family. Karen noticed that she, too, seemed a little happier. Not as much as Mike, but happy just the same.

“Nancy, don’t forget, I need you home right after school,” Karen reminded her.

“Yeah, mom, I know,” Nancy said.

“And Mike, you too.”

Mike nearly choked on his waffle. “Wait, what?”

“Your father and I are going out tonight. I need you home, so I’ll know where you are.”

“But I was going to go out tonight!”

“Mike, it's a school night. And besides, where were you going to go?”

“I was gonna….” he paused, not knowing how to answer. He still hadn't come up with anything to do with Eleven. “Uh...I was going to go over to Dustin’s and watch a movie.”

Karen shook her head. “You can do that any other night, Mike, but not tonight.” In her highchair, Holly began fussing. Karen picked her up and took her out of the dining room.

Mike rested his head in his hand as he picked at his breakfast. “It’s not fair.”

“Mike, seriously, you see your friends every day; one night away isn’t going to hurt you,” Nancy told him.

“It’s not that,” he muttered.

“Then what is it?”

“Nothing,” he said.

Nancy began to pry, but let it go as their mother came back into the room. 

 

A little bit later Mike was biking to school when Nancy’s car pulled up next to him. “Get in,” she said.

He gave her a look. “Why?”

“Mike, just….get in.”

She popped the trunk, and he put his bike inside, then climbed into the front seat.

“You want to tell me what’s going on?,” Nancy said as she pulled away from the curb.

“What do you mean?”

“You never get this upset when Mom says you can’t see your friends. What’s really happening?”

“Nothing,” Mike said, staring out of the window.

When he didn’t say anything else, she started to think out loud. “It can’t be one of your games, because you usually do that in our basement.”

In his seat, Mike started to sit up nervously.

“I doubt you were really going to see a movie at Dustin’s. You guys practically spent your whole weekend in that basement watching movies.”

Mike remained silent.

“Hm,” Nancy said with a smile as they stopped at a light. “Eleven was asking me about Valentine’s Day the other day…”

“Okay, stop,” he said, letting out a sigh. “It’s El, okay? I’m doing something with her today. And now that I can't go out…”

Nancy was silent for a moment. Then, she said “Invite her over.”

“What?”

“Eleven. Invite her over tonight. Technically you're not disobeying mom, and if Hopper gets upset, I'll be there to chaperone.”

“Invite her over? I hadn't even thought about that.”

“Oh, Mike,” Nancy said as the light turned green. “You have so much to learn.”

 

Over at Hopper's trailer, Eleven was picking out what she would wear later that night. She had barely gotten any sleep; she was feeling so much better after she and Mike had patched things up.

Hopper was getting ready to go into work and stopped by her room to see how she was doing. There were clothes all over her bed as she tried to decide.

“Don’t you think you’re overthinking this?” he asked her.

She shook her head. “It’s Mike. He’s...special.”

“Yeah, well,” he said, kissing the top of her head, “Make sure he knows  _ you’re _ special.”

“He knows,” she said, smiling as she made clothes levitate from the closet.

“No, not that kind of...never mind. I’m going in, I’ll be back in a few hours to take you over to his house.”

“Okay,” she said, looking at two dresses she liked.

Shaking his head, Hopper went off to work.

 

A few hours later, Nancy took a detour between her third and fourth periods. Instead of going to her geography class right away, she stopped by the school’s darkroom. Once she arrived, a smile came to her face when she saw who she was looking for.

Jonathan was bent over a tray, lightly shaking it so his picture would develop. Closing the door behind her, she cleared her throat.

He jumped a little, then smiled when he saw who it was. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she said, returning the smile. She walked over to where he was, and looked at the developing photograph. “Another interdimensional monster?”

“No, just...just something.”

She nodded her head. “Thank you, by the way.”

“Hm?”

“The mix-tape. Thank you.”

“Oh,” he said. “Yeah, I wasn’t sure how to give it to you. Did you like it?”

She nodded. “I’ve probably listened to it 3-4 times by now.”

He blushed. “Well, I’m glad you like it.”

They were silent for a minute, as Jonathan continued to lightly shake the tray, his picture slowly coming into focus.

“You don’t have class?” he asked her, moving slightly and obscuring her view of the picture.

“Um,” she said, noticing. “I do, but I wanted to come and say thank you.” She tried to look over his shoulder. “Is your picture almost done?”

“Yeah, almost. I don’t want you to be late, so…”

She laughed. “Jonathan, what’s it a picture of?”

Sighing, he moved out of the way. “It’s....you.” He moved out of the way so she could see; sure enough, a smiling picture of herself was looking back at her.

“Back when we were, you know...friends, I guess, there was a picture I took of you that I liked. I was going to develop it and, you know...give it as a gift.”

She examined it closer. “How were you going to give me this?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Slip it into your locker again?” he said, chuckling.

She stepped a little closer. “You know, you don’t have to be so shy.”

“What?”

She gave him a look. “ _ Jonathan _ .”

He sighed. “I, uh...Nancy?”

She smiled, looking up at him. “Yes?”

“Do you maybe want to do something sometime?”

“Yes, I would,” she responded.

He grinned, and pulled the picture out of the tray. He tacked it to the wall to let it dry. “How about tonight?”

She grimaced. “Oh, tonight...I have to babysit my little sister.”

“Oh. Oh, okay.” His head drooped a little.

“But Friday?”

His head popped back up. “Um, sure.”

Both smiling at each other, she leaned up and gave him a quick peck on his cheek. “I’ve got to get to class,” she said.

“Yeah, um, I probably do, too,” he said. “I guess I’ll see you Friday, then?”

“See you Friday,” she said, nodding her head.

After she left, it took all of Jonathan’s energy not to jump up and down in happiness.

 

At Hawkins Middle School, it was lunch time. Mike could barely take a bite from his sandwich before his friends bombarded him with questions:

Will: “Did you and El make up?”

Dustin: “What’re you guys going to do tonight?”

Lucas: “Are you going to make out?”

“Guys, jeez,” Mike said. “I went over there yesterday after school. We’re good now. She’s going to come over to my house tonight.”

The boys “ooohed.”

“Shut up,” Mike said, smiling. 

“What're you guys going to do?” Lucas asked. 

Mike shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure yet. Maybe watch a movie or something.”

Dustin shook his head. “It's gotta be better than that! What'd you get her?”

“A card.”

“That's it?” Lucas asked. 

“Yeah….”

“Jeez, even I know you've got to do better than that,” Will said. 

“Well what do you guys suggest?”

“Flowers, duh,” Dustin suggested. 

“Chocolates” Lucas said. “Girls like chocolates on Valentine's Day.”

“And dress nice,” Will said. 

“Okay,” Mike said, taking it all in. “I've got to get busy after school.”

 

And get busy he did. With the boys’ help, Mike bought a box of chocolates for El and bought her a single rose (he couldn't believe the prices for a dozen) after school. 

After trying unsuccessfully to tie a tie, he settled on a dress shirt with a sweater over it. Wishing him luck, the boys headed home. 

 

The rest of the school day went fine for Nancy. She made it without seeing Steve, got a hundred percent on a pop quiz, and was beginning to not mind seeing all of the red, white, and pink Valentine decorations in the school. By the time school ended, she had a little pep in her step as she walked to her car.

This faded some when she saw Carol standing by her car. 

“What do you want?” Nancy asked as she approached. 

“Nice to see you, too,” Carol said. “Look, I know you and I aren't really friends or anything, but I thought you should know something.”

“Yeah, what's that?”

Carol shook her head and quietly said “Jonathan Byers. He's taking pictures of you again. I know he was kind of stalking you before, so…”

“It's not what you think,” Nancy told her, then thought: why am I explaining anything to her?

“Speak of the devil,” Carol said, and Nancy turned to see Jonathan a few feet away, holding an envelope.

“I was just gonna give you this,” he said to Nancy, holding up the envelope.

“Thank you,” she said. “Goodbye, Carol.”

Carol gave them a look. “Seriously, Nancy? You can do  _ way _ better than him.”

“Go to hell,” Nancy told her.

Carol walked off as Nancy opened the envelope to see the picture he'd been developing earlier. “I like it,” she told him. 

“Thanks. I'll, uh, I'll see you.”

He turned to leave, but Nancy stopped him and turned him around. She gave him a quick kiss. 

Blushing, he said “You didn't have to do that.”

“I wanted to,” she said, also blushing. “I'll see you tomorrow?”

“Definitely.”

 

******

 

“Nancy, we’re leaving,” Karen called from the front door.

Nancy came down the stairs, textbook in hand. “Where’s dad?”

“He’s in the car. You have everything you need?”

“Yes,” Nancy said, picking up Holly.

“The number for the restaurant is on the refrigerator; and if there’s any kind of emergency, call the Sinclairs next door.”

“Mom, okay,” Nancy said. “We’ll be fine.”

Karen smiled. “Thank you. Where’s your brother?”

“He’s down in the basement, he’s getting ready for Eleven to come over.”

Karen pointed a finger at Nancy. “No funny business.”

“Mom…”

“Check on them every few minutes.”

“Mom, it’s  _ Mike _ .”

Karen sighed. “You’re right.”

In the driveway, Ted honked the horn.

“Coming!” Karen shouted over her shoulder.

“Have a good time, mom,” Nancy told her.

Karen smiled, turned, and walked to the car.

Nancy and Holly watched the car back out and drive away.

Closing the door, Nancy took Holly and put her in front of the tv. She then walked to the top of the basement stairs. “Mike?” she called. “Everything okay down there?”

“Yeah,” he called back. 

“Do you need any help?”

“No, I got it,” he responded. 

Shrugging her shoulders, she went and sat with Holly. 

 

Fifteen minutes later there was a knock at the front door. Nancy got up but Mike came running up the stairs and beat her to the door. 

As he opened it, he was caught off guard by what he saw; Eleven, looking prettier than ever, dressed in a skirt and jacket, smiling at him. 

“Whoa,” he said. 

“Hi, Mike.”

“Uh...hi, El.”

She turned to Hopper, sitting in his truck, and gave him a wave. He shouted back “two hours,” and reluctantly pulled out of the driveway. 

Mike took El’s hand, and the two went to the basement.

“Are you hungry?” he asked her.

“A little,” she said. She took in the basement; it was the same, but the game table had a tablecloth and two plates on top of it, with a rose and a box of candy on one side. Smiling, she picked up the flower. “Is this for me?”

Mike looked at his shoes in shyness, and nodded his head. “The chocolates, too.”

Smiling, she walked over, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him on the lips. “Thank you,” she said softly, as they pulled apart.

“You’re welcome,” he said, fighting the blush that threatened to creep up his neck.

She pulled her arms down and looked around. “So...what do we do?”

He gestured towards the table; she went to sit down, but he stopped her. “Uh..,” he said, pulling out the chair for her. She smiled, and sat down.

“Just a sec,” he said, going upstairs two steps at a time. A minute later, he came back and she laughed when she saw what he had: a plate of Eggo waffles.

 

After eating, the two sat on the couch and exchanged cards. El really liked the rabbit Valentine card she got, and Mike couldn’t help but smile at his X-Men themed card.

Mike then stood up and offered his hand to El. “Do, uh, do you want to dance?”

“Dance?” she asked, taking his hand and standing.

He went over to a small radio he had in the basement, and pressed play. The Beatles’ “Something” began to play.

“Here,” he said, positioning himself in front of her. Taking her hands, he said “You put yours on my shoulders, and I put mine…” he hesitated, then put his on her hips. Both teens turned red.

“What do we do now?” El asked, her face close to Mike’s.

“We, um, we kind of sway.”

“Sway?”

“Like this,” he said, and he began to slowly move side to side.

“Is this what they do at the Snow Ball?” she asked.

He grinned. “Hey, you remembered.”

She nodded her head. “Of course. Just like I remember you...kissing me in the school.”

“Oh, you, uh, remember that too, huh?”

She nodded her head again. “I liked it.”

“I liked it, too.”

Still swaying, he leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. “Thank you for forgiving me, El. I promise I’ll never ever say anything like that again.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” he answered.

“Is it true, what you said yesterday?”

“Is what true?”

“You could never hate me?”

“Of course I couldn’t hate you. I…”

She looked at him expectantly.

“I like you too much,” he said after a second’s hesitation.

It wasn’t what she thought he was going to say, but it made her feel good nonetheless. “I like you too much, too,” she said, resting her head on his chest.

Mike sighed, wondering if he should have told her he loved her.  _ Maybe some other time _ , he thought.

When the song ended, the two shared El’s chocolates as they watched a movie on the couch, El resting her head on Mike’s shoulder. Partway through, Mike glanced at his watch and saw that their time would be up soon. Pausing the movie, he asked, “El?”

She looked up at him. “Yes?”

“It’s almost time.”

“Oh,” she said, sitting up.

“Did you have a nice Valentine’s Day?”

“Yes,” she said, nodding her head. “Did you?”

“The best,” he said, smiling.

“When’s the next one? Can we do it again?”

“No, Valentine’s Day is only once a year,” he told her. When he saw the look of disappointment on her face, he added “But, I mean, you and me can, you know….do stuff like this more, if you want.”

She eagerly nodded her head. “And we can...hold hands, and...kiss?”

Blushing, Mike nodded.

Feeling the urge again, the two leaned in and kissed. This one lasted a little longer than their previous ones, as though they were both trying to express feelings they’d kept to themselves for such a long time.

When it ended, and they were both holding hands, Mike couldn’t keep a smile off his face, which got Eleven smiling, and before they knew it, they were both giggling.

 

Upstairs, Nancy saw headlights pull into the driveway and realized Hopper must be there. She’d tried to keep her distance from the two kids in the basement in order to give them some privacy, but she now got up and went to the foot of the stairs.

Not hearing anything, she tiptoed down and smiled when she saw Mike and Eleven sitting together, holding hands and smiling.

“Um, sorry to break this up,” Nancy said. The two kids separated. “But Hopper’s here.”

El smoothed out her dress and stood up. Mike started to, but Nancy stopped him. He looked at her confused.

“You might want to wipe that lip gloss off your face,” she told him.

His eyes widened, and he quickly rubbed the back of his sleeve all over his face.

 

Mike walked El to Hopper’s car. The two hugged; El, knowing how nervous Mike got in front of Hopper, settled for a kiss on his cheek and asked him to call her tomorrow, which he definitely agreed to.

When she left, and Mike was back inside in his room, his Supercom was crackling like crazy as Lucas repeatedly called his name.

Smiling, Mike picked it up. “What, Lucas? Over.”

“Well? How’d it go?”

“Pretty good,” Mike said, trying to restrain himself from telling his friend all of the details. “Pretty good. Over.”

On his end, Lucas smiled. Even without seeing Mike’s face, Lucas knew his friend was a goner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there you have it! I'm thinking of doing a sequel to this story (thoughts?) at a later time, after I've gotten back to my Strange Conversations series. Again, thank you for reading and let me know if you liked it. Thanks!


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